OUR TEAM
Many people and organizations contribute to the success of Bluff Lake Nature Center, including:
BLNC STAFF
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Chira first joined the Bluff Lake team in March of 2021 as an AmeriCorps member, and returned to the education team in September of 2022. Chira grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico where she developed her love for the outdoors in the Sandia Mountains through hiking and potlucks at the peak. She holds a bachelor degree in Environmental Science from Regis University. Chira enjoys watching students create personal connections to nature and develop new interests through educational programming. She likes to spend her free time with her dog, baking sweets, traveling, and being outside paddleboarding, slacklining, or hiking!
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Kaitlin joined Bluff Lake Nature Center in 2024. An enthusiastic "nature nerd", some her favorite natural wonders to nerd out about are water, birds, and plants. Kaitlin gets way too excited about species identification. She has a degree in environmental science and a professional background in environmental education and business management. Her favorite aspect of environmental education is encouraging students to be curious about and explore the natural world. She enjoys hiking, birding, swimming, and baking. She's a firm believer that there's pretty much no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing choices!
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Mary Helms (she/her/ella) is serving as a Bilingual Environmental Educator at Bluff Lake Nature Center. Growing up on a small farm in Nebraska allowed Mary to develop a deep connection with nature from a young age, which helped shape her passion for environmental education. While obtaining her Bachelors degree in Biology, she also studied Spanish and Sustainability in Costa Rica. Following her graduation in 2024, she spent a year teaching at an elementary school in Spain and utilized school gardens to promote environmental connection. Mary is committed to sharing her love of the outdoors and creating a space for everyone to have the chance to connect with nature. In her free time, she enjoys rock climbing, hiking, poetry, and creating music.
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Leila Regan-Porter has had a profound love of nature ever since her childhood days of hiking the countryside of England, where she was born to a British father and Iranian mother. Prior to Bluff Lake Nature Center, Leila lived in Macon, Ga. and worked at the Otis Redding Foundation, where she managed everything from marketing and administrative duties to fundraising campaigns and grant writing. She also served as grant writer for the Tubman Museum, and has written for Paste Magazine, Performing Songwriter, the Macon Telegraph, Macon Magazine, and more. She served as president for the boards of Bragg Jam and Main Street Macon. She loves visiting Bluff Lake with her husband and their child, and seeing her kid’s appreciation for the outdoors grow through education and exploration.
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Rachel Hutchens is the Executive Director of Bluff Lake. Her mission is to make culture and nature accessible to everyone. Born in Colorado, she has a degree from the University of Colorado Boulder in History and Education. Rachel has worked in the nonprofit field for over 10 years, including spending time at the Missouri History Museum and the St. Louis Science Center. Rachel has been the Executive Director of BLNC since 2018, and has helped grow the organizations education programs and accessibility to diverse communities. Under her leadership, the organization has launched a capital campaign and construction of their $8.5M Campus Improvements Project. Rachel has also served on the Board of Directors for two partner organizations: Sand Creek Regional Greenway Partnership and Friends of the Front Range Wildlife Refuges. She also serves on Collaborative of the SCFD board as Tier III Liaison and on their Governance and Nominating Task Force. Her favorite thing about Bluff Lake is finding bones and going on insect hunts with kids!
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Emily began her career in Early Childhood Education back in 2017, before joining Denver Forest School in September 2021, and joining Bluff Lake Forest School in 2025. She's a native to Colorado, where she discovered her love for all things outdoors and nature related. It's a passion of hers to share this with her student's, in hopes that they too foster a love for the outdoors and all of its amazing creatures, for the rest of their lives. When she's not working with kids, Emily enjoys hiking, reading, crocheting, birding, and spending quality time with her son.
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Adam (he/him)
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Emily Werner (she/her) is serving as an Environmental Educator at Bluff Lake Nature Center in Denver, Colorado. She grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she formed a strong connection to the beautiful environment around her. Hiking, skiing, hammocking, and swimming in the mountain lakes sparked her passion of protecting natural spaces. In the spring of 2025, Emily graduated from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa with a degree in sustainability, with a focus on sustainable environmental policy and environmental justice, values, and ethics. Emily is committed to increasing equity and accessibility in environmental spaces and is excited to serve the Denver community!
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Erika (she/they) has been passionate about nature and all things outdoors ever since she can remember. As a kid the trees, plants, and animals were some of her first friends. She could spend hours outside beneath the trees, letting her imagination run wild and never get her fill of the outdoors. She is thrilled to be a forest school teacher who gets to mentor children in their daily discoveries and share with them her own love for nature, and build on their intrinsic capacity for the joy and curiosity that the natural world brings, as well as respect and appreciation for the way nature connects us to each other. She views our human connection to nature as integral to shaping the future of our world in a positive way as we recognize our capacity for adaptability and emergence. Erika is originally from Richmond Virginia, where she attended Virginia Commonwealth University for music and psychology. When Erika isn't teaching or adventuring she enjoys a myriad of creative projects like poetry writing, journaling, jamming out on the violin, and cooking vegan for her friends.
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Mariah Badillo (she/her) is serving as a Bilingual AmeriCorps Summer Camp Assistant Director with Bluff Lake Nature Center. Born and raised in Denver, Mariah is looking to give back to her community and share her passion for wildlife and the outdoors. Growing up she had a curiosity for the natural world and has spent the rest of her adult life actively pursuing that, enjoying outdoor recreational activities and studying wildlife biology. She has a background working as a field biologist and served as a Youth in Development Coordinator with Peace Corps, Guatemala. As a native Spanish speaker she hopes to use her language abilities to help spark curiosities and a better understanding about the natural world for other Latinos.
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Tess (she/her) enjoys maintaining and improving the valuable habitats and ecosystems on site as well as identifying plants and watching birds. She loves working outside and is thrilled to share the love of the outdoors with others. Tess has a degree from the University of San Diego in Biology. After deciding laboratory science was not for her, she started working in outdoor recreation and then in conservation at state and city parks . When not outside, you can find her sewing, crocheting, or playing board games.
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Ben’s (he/him) parents told him he would grow up to be a professional camp counselor one day. This has turned out to be true, and Ben is now the Summer Camp Director at Bluff Lake. He plans all the public programming like Boo on the Bluff and the free monthly walks, and still loves teaching outdoors for OHE or field trips. Ben found Bluff Lake through eBird, and now it’s the single place where he has seen the most species of birds in the whole world. When he is trying not to think about birds he also enjoys ukulele, snowboarding, and reading books.
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Casey McCabe is the School Programs Manager at Bluff Lake Nature Center. She is passionate about creating welcoming learning environments where people can build meaningful connections to the natural world. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Earlham College and a Master of Science in Biology from the University of Massachusetts Boston. Casey has spent more than a decade in informal education and science programming, leading and designing programs and interactive spaces at museums and science centers in three states. Her work centers on building reciprocal relationships with community partners to support local needs and interests. In her free time, Casey enjoys crafting, reading, and identifying insects and other invertebrates, as well as exploring and playing outdoors with her husband and daughter.
BLNC SUMMER STAFF
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Alyssa (she/her) will be a counselor this summer with Bluff Nature Center. She grew up in Northern Colorado and gained a passion for conservation from a young age. She got her bachelors degree in Environmental Science from Oregon Institute of Technology in 2024. Since then, she has worked multiple environmental education jobs and has discovered a passion for teaching and being with kids outside. Some of her hobbies are swimming, camping, reading, and yoga.
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Angel (he/him) is serving as one of Bluff Lake Nature Center’s Natural Resources Interns for summer 2026. Born and raised in Aurora, Colorado, he has been an active member of the Aurora community and broader Denver Metro area. During high school, Angel actively volunteered at local organizations, with a focus on community and educational equity. Through these roles, Angel has noticed the large development of the Denver metropolitan area. Being intrigued by how these changes might impact community health and the environment, Angel is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Human Biology with an interest in public health at Pitzer College. Furthermore, as a Natural Resource intern, Angel hopes to gain a deeper understanding of how ecological and urban communities interact and impact each other.
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Briggs is very excited to work as a summer camp counselor at Bluff Lake Summer Camp. He previously worked as a lead intern at Windy Peak Jeffco Schools, where he found his love of the environment. This love carried into his academic career as he just finished his undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies at the American College of Greece, located in Athens, Greece. He is extremely excited to be stateside before he goes to his master’s degree at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, where he will be studying Sustainable Energy and Energy Systems Engineering. Besides teaching about the environment, Briggs is extremely excited about Bluff Lakes resident avian species, as he is a huge bird nerd.
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Cacie is a 2026 summer Environmental Educator with Bluff Lake Nature Center. Growing up in Colorado, she spent her childhood hiking, camping, birding, and exploring the outdoors, which fueled her love for nature and wildlife. She graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in Zoology, and has since worked in both environmental education and childcare roles. Her favorite part of her previous environmental education work was being a part of connecting people to new ideas, new interests, and getting to be a part of the journey of discovery. In her spare time, she enjoys baking, reading, birding, hiking with her dog, and spending time with the animals on her hobby farm.
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Ian (He/Him) grew up only a couple miles away from BLNC and has held a passionate love for nature and all things wild. He joined Bluff Lake Nature Center in 2026 and just finished his first year at Middlebury College in Vermont studying both Physics and Environmental Studies. He is passionate about outdoor recreation running Collegiate Cross Country and Track and well as enjoying hiking, fishing, and skiing. Through reading authors such as Aldo Leopold and Henry David Thoreau, Ian found a deep enthusiasm for environmental education and preservation. He loves the spontaneity and freedom wilderness promotes and is always eager to share that passion and inclusivity with others. Outside of that he also enjoys film photography, live music, and trying new foods.
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Annika Parrish (she/her) is serving as an Environmental Educator at Bluff Lake Nature Center. Growing up in Colorado, she developed a deep connection to the outdoors at a young age, including attending Bluff Lake’s summer camp as a child. With a father who is an ornithologist, she was encouraged early on to explore, observe, and build a meaningful relationship with the natural world. She recently graduated from the University of Vermont’s Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, where she studied the intersection of anthropology and ecology, helping to deepen her understanding of the strength of personal relationships to the world surrounding us. Annika has spent the past two winters teaching ski school at Bolton Valley in Vermont, where she developed a passion for outdoor education and working with youth in dynamic environments. She is deeply committed to fostering connections to land and place—not only for children, but for all communities—and creating inclusive, engaging experiences in nature. In her free time, she enjoys mountain biking, fly fishing, reading, and spending time with her dog, Nola
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Flora (she/her) is a 2026 Bluff Lake summer camp counselor from Denver, Colorado with a love of nature. She enjoys going on adventures, as well as seeing the joy and peace being in nature can bring to others as well. Flora just finished her first year studying psychology at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, after taking a gap year where she worked as an elementary school after care instructor. Being at Fort Lewis deepened her appreciation for the outdoors and the importance of challenging yourself to try new things, even if you’re a beginner. Flora’s work with Fort Lewis Peer Support and academic focus in psychology also give her an understanding of the important role nature plays in both mental and physical wellbeing. In her free time, Flora likes to spend time with her three cats and two dogs, play guitar and cook
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Roisin (she/her) is a returning Summer Camp Counselor. She has worked at the BLNC summer camp since 2024 and has previously worked at Bluff Lake as an AmeriCorps Educator, as well as a Forest School Teacher and is currently an Instructional Paraprofessional with DPS. When not at camp or in school you could find her looking for birds or wandering outside.
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Renee is Mexican-American (half raised in Mexico - half raised in America. She has been living in Colorado for the past 7 years and was introduced to nature about 4 years ago. She is currently a freshman in college and enjoys finding new music and new artists, cooking, and traveling. Renee likes nature because it feels that it is a world that gives so much peace and there is a lot to explore!
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My name is Avery Casey, and I am serving as a seasonal Forest School Educator at Bluff Nature Center. I was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida where I found my love for the environment. During my high school years, I spent my time working at the Florida Aquarium and Tampa Bay Watch as a camp counselor. In college, I had the opportunity to work for the USF Marine Research Lab as a research assistant and at Wrangell-St. Elias National Park as a Youth Program Educator. I graduated in 2024 from Florida Gulf Coast University with a bachelor’s in environmental studies with a concentration environmental education. I love anything outside (extra points if it’s the mountains, beach or a swamp!), in my free time you can find me playing flag football/volleyball, hiking, snorkeling, baking, scuba diving, traveling to a new place or heading to a concert!
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Carly Philpott grew up visiting BLNC in the summers, which fueled her love of wildlife and ecology. This lifetime connection to local ecosystems via BLNC has consistently shaped her life since. She was a Junior Counselor from 2018-2023 and a part-time counselor in 2024 before joining the Natural Resource team for summer 2025 and 2026. Meanwhile, in her two years so far at Bates College in Lewiston, ME, she has majored in Environmental Science (with a double major in Classical & Medieval Studies) and worked in school biology labs, but her heart remains with outdoor work, leading her to volunteer in Maine to help migrating amphibians cross roads. In her free time, Carly is an avid birder and reader (outside whenever possible), and cares for a menagerie of reptiles, amphibians, and fish at home – including a few native species that double as live ambassadors once in a while at BLNC.
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My name is Madelyn Graham and I’m from Omaha, Nebraska. I’m currently a graduate student at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, and have studied, biology, environmental science, and communication. I have an avid love for all creatures great and small and am excited to have an amazing summer full of learning!
VOLUNTEERS
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Ann is a fledgling writer, avid reader, and amateur naturalist who has worked in Denver area libraries and nonprofits for over 30 years. Her love of nature was nurtured in her home state of New Jersey where she grew up near Stony Brook, part of the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed. She waded in the brook and played along its banks in the warm weather and skated across the ice in the cold. Ann enjoys sharing the wonders of Bluff Lake with kids and marvels at their endless curiosity.
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Kora has been volunteering at Bluff Lake since fall of 2018. Before she retired, she taught fourth and fifth grade in Aurora Public Schools at Montview Elementary and Jewell Elementary for 31 years. She has always loved teaching kids about science and seeing them get excited about learning outdoors. She now spends her time volunteering with several organizations, taking care of with her 3 grandchildren, hiking and walking, cooking and baking, and church activities.
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George retired from medicine in 2013. Now he spends his time birding, performing grandfather duties, photographing, jogging, writing and facilitating courses on end-of-life issues, birding and making photobooks online in lifelong learning venues. He then spends the rest of the day cooking, enjoying his meals and getting a good night's sleep so he can repeat everything again the next day.
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Toledo, Ohio is my hometown. When I was in 7th grade, I got a springer spaniel puppy. We roamed nearby fields together, and that’s where I first saw meadow larks, butterfly weed, and baby rabbits in a nest.
After college I taught high school math and English in Iowa and Tennessee. I have two grown children. After I retired from teaching, I moved to Denver in 2021 to be near my two young grandchildren.
I soon discovered Bluff Lake and have been a regular on the monthly bird walks. It is thrilling to see and hear the many birds there through the seasons. For the past several months I have been a Bluff Lake volunteer weed wrangler and video camera reviewer. There is so much to learn about all the wildlife that lives in this urban jewel.
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Steve is a retired city planner, having worked throughout Colorado and California in the public and private sectors. He now focuses on his family, friends, and his passions. These include photography, birding, and of course Bluff Lake. He has volunteered at Bluff Lake Nature Center for several years, helping lead the monthly bird walks and currently serves as vice-president of the Board of Directors. His favorite things about Bluff Lake are the diversity of the ecosystem and the opportunities for hands-on learning about nature and science in the middle of an urban setting.
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Barb first visited Bluff Lake with her son’s class back in 2002 and really enjoyed it. After recently retiring from CDOT as a roadway designer/project manager she is happy to rekindle her BA in Environmental Conservation by leading field trips. She loves teaching kids about biology, science, maps and seeing them learn through exploring nature. In her spare time she enjoys volunteering, hiking, yoga, biking, gardening, traveling and spending time with her two adult kids.
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Joann has studied mind-body wellness practices for over thirty years and has certificates as a Level 2 Qigong and Tai Chi Easy Instructor through the Institute of Integral Qigong and Tai Chi (IIQTC). She is also the Recovery Education Director at the Colorado Mental Wellness Network where she conducts workshops on mindfulness and other wellness programming. She is happy to have discovered Bluff Lake as it provides a beautiful sanctuary for practicing both mindfulness and qigong, and she began volunteering in 2016. Joann is also a passionate gardener and her book, Growing Mindful, Explorations in the Garden to Deepen Your Awareness, was published in 2021. She writes a monthly blog at Mindfulnessgardengames.com that combines her love of gardens, mindfulness, and wellness practices. Other passions include fiber arts, reading, hanging out with family and her two sweet animal companions, Luna and Millie.
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Sheri is thrilled to be giving back through the gift of slowing down and nature connection as part of the Volunteer team at BLNC guiding the Nature Wonder Wanders. A graduate from Earth Based Institute’s Nature Connected Coaching and Transformational Wilderness Guide Certification Programs, Sheri coaches her clients through Your PATH Coach LLC, where PATH stands for Personal Accountability To Harmony. Sheri works on site at BLNC as a Learning Guide for the Denver Forest School where she loves hearing the kids say: “I did it!” It is a joy to help cultivate the student’s self-awareness, relationships, and a respect for nature. She holds a BA from Ball State University and is also a fitness coach at both Row House-Smoky Hill and STRIDE Southlands Fitness studios where she encourages movement, self-awareness, and personal growth.
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Christina has been volunteering at Bluff Lake since the summer of 2023. Before she retired, she taught 13 years of high school science for California public schools, and was a field biologist with California F & W for 2 years! At Bluff Lake, Christina brings her background and enthusiasm for the environment to our summer camp program!
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Jen is a Colorado native who is fortunate to have Bluff Lake as a part of the community where her kids grew up. For the past five years, she has enthusiastically shared her love of birds as a volunteer bird walk leader here. When she's not exploring the trails, you can often find Jen birding, hiking or biking and generally enjoying the beautiful Colorado outdoors.
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Growing up camping and hiking in Colorado, Lindsay has had a love for nature and wildlife since she was a child. This love was further nurtured when she pursued her major in biology. She enjoys being outside in nature, observing wild animals, identifying the plants around her, and sharing this with friends and family. Lindsay interned with Bluff Lake Nature Center as a Natural Resource Management intern, where she worked with amazing volunteers and staff and had the opportunity to learn about the wildlife and plants there. After interning, she knew she wanted to return as a volunteer. She continues to feed her love of learning about the wild animals and plants at Bluff Lake through her volunteer work. In her free time, Lindsay enjoys hiking, camping, birding, reading, yoga, and playing board and computer games with friends and family.
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Mike is a retired biologist who recently moved to Denver from Massachusetts. He has always loved the outdoors and is intrigued by the Colorado environment. What better way to learn about his new home than to volunteer at Bluff Lake and engage with friendly experts? Mike has been walking the Nature Center property numerous times helping with invasive plant control and recently counted prairie dogs as part of an ongoing monthly survey. He’s having fun!
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As a Colorado native, Miranda has always been passionate about the outdoors. She enjoys everything the beautiful state has to offer—from hiking and paddle boarding in the summer, to snowboarding and snowshoeing in the winter. She works in the corporate events industry and is grateful for the opportunities she gets traveling the world to different events.
Miranda loves volunteering with kids and works with several organizations throughout the Denver Metro area. While newer to Bluff Lake, she never wants to miss an opportunity to share her passion for the outdoors with the younger generation, and is excited to be a part of the team.
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Steve enjoys Bluff Lake with its biodiversity for the opportunities of observing and photographing wildlife, flora and fauna. Also, assisting in the recovery of native ecosystems!
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Steve Hebert
President
Retired City Planner
Kristen Lommele Festin
Vice President
Hearing Officer, Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities
Jack Kroll
Treasurer
Executive Manager of the Board Office, Regional Transportation District
Katie Robb-Davis
Member
Associate Pastor, Wellshire Presbyterian Church
Tina Landers
Member
Legal Specialist, Adobe Inc.
Kim Lopez
Member
Volunteer Coordinator, Friends of the Front Range Wildlife Refuges
Ken Pritchard
Member
Retired Civil Engineer
Roshini Shankaran
Member
Environmental Lead, BPX Energy
Jeff Battiste
Member
Senior Project Manager, Mile High Flood District
Kerry McNichols
Member
Vice President-Private Wealth Advisor, JP Morgan Private Bank
Beth Fischer
Member
Retired
[If you are interested in serving on our Board of Directors, please contact Executive Director Rachel Hutchens at rachel@blufflake.org]
MAJOR FUNDERS
